Ethnography

Ethnography

November 1, 2014

A Close Up On Gaming

It is nine fifty-six on a Saturday night. The clouds are out and the moon is bright.

Tonight there are a couple of guys walking down the hall of the third floor. They reach their destination and enter the fourth dorm from the end. They close the door. Inside the dorm there are a total of four guys. The guys then open the door and I see them all point fingers at one another and shake hands. They then begin to play around and push one another.

They must have been trying to prove a point about who was right and who was wrong over some previous issue they had.

After about five minutes have passed by, two of the guys in the fourth dorm leave the room and enter the third dorm from the end. As the two other guys entered the third dorm I noticed that one of them carried a PS3 controller in his hand. The two guys entered the third dorm with much enthusiasm.

The blinds in the third dorm were completely shut, but in the fourth dorm the blinds were up, so I was able to catch a glimpse of the activities taking place within that dorm.

In the fourth dorm I observed two guys sitting down staring at the TV. In their hands they both held something. It is hard to make out what object they each hold, but just based of previous observations I would have to conclude that the two guys inside the fourth dorm are both holding PS3 controllers. They are probably playing video games.

As the guys in the fourth dorm play, the guys from the third dorm will occasionally run into the fourth dorm to exchange a couple of comments, and then run back into their own dorm. The guys from the fourth dorm then get up and enter the third dorm to, what seems to be, make fun of them. The guys from the third dorm will then stayed locked in their dorm for a few more minutes and then come out looking excited and laughing as they enter the fourth dorm to laugh at the guys in there.
I have yet to figure out what connection do the guys in the third dorm have with the guys in the fourth dorm.

The guys in the fourth dorm have now gone in and out of the third dorm four times, and on their fourth trip to the third dorm they leave the door open. I am able to catch a glimpse inside, and I discover that the guys in the third dorm are playing video games as well.

I come to the conclusion that the two groups of guys must be competing against one another. That would explain the back and forth comments being made between the dorms.


My previous observation on the guys exchanging handshakes now makes sense. They must have been making some sort of bet over who would have more wins on their PS3 gaming. 

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